At this moment, and under the circumstances that surround us, we have
recognized as a definite global challenge the problem of climate change, and
in general, the ecological misbalance of cities. In an attempt to meet this
challenge, we will try to discuss possibilities of implementing the
"Eco-Infill" strategy (fragments of nature incorporated into abandoned
artificial environment) as a viable, somewhat ?alternative?, urban
development strategy. The contemporary matrix of the post-industrial urban
landscape is dotted with large and small fragments of abandoned spaces, which
need to be incorporated into the city texture. Belgrade is a city with a
potential, one of the larger capitals of the region, standing on the
threshold of the European Union and undergoing an intensive process of
political, economic and social transition. Similar to other large cities, it
was previously an industrial city, but is now increasingly relying on the
tertiary sector, promoting itself through its geographical, morphological,
and cultural advantages. The consequences of privatization during transition
and an exceptionally long and difficult political and economic crisis
produced Brownfield and other abandoned spaces of the city centre with a
complicated proprietary-ownership status, and no realistic guidelines for a
much needed regeneration of the city centre in terms of contemporary problems
linked to ecological, social and cultural values. In this article, there is a
tendency to define principles on which the transformation of these abandoned
places is based on and to try to apply these strategies onto the Belgrade
shipyard on the river Sava. If we accept the previously set general views,
these spaces can become crucial in developing a strategy for mitigation and
adaptation to climate change. Although these effects are primarily aimed at
confronting climate change, they are bound to upgrade the quality of life and
offer new life styles, potentially affecting all aspects of urban life,
considering that most of the eco-infill we are talking about consists of
active public space.
Abandoned spaces and technology displacement by labour: the case of hand car washes